


We are here

by Otori0



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: M/M, for once there's beta, im bad for titles, spoilers for ketsu, they're kinda ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 11:15:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30105117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otori0/pseuds/Otori0
Summary: Six years had passed.Six years since the day when Mikado pointed a gun to his best friend– six years since the last time he saw Aoba.Or basically, Mikado and Aoba pining for each other for six years until they finally meet again.
Relationships: Kida Masaomi/Sonohara Anri, Kuronuma Aoba/Ryuugamine Mikado
Kudos: 4





	We are here

**Author's Note:**

> i didnt finish reading sh so this probably doesnt add up with sh but,, whatever  
> also please ignore any grammatical errors fafjdv this is terribly well written in general but . enjoy ig

Six years had passed.   
Six years since the day when Mikado pointed a gun to his best friend– six years since the last time he saw Aoba.   
During these years, they never got in touch with each other. It was awkward, or rather, they didn't have any reason to meet anymore. Everything had already ended. They contract had expired. 

However, not even once did Mikado forget about the shorter male in those years, and it was the same for Aoba. There wasn't a day when he didn't remember those deep blue eyes and short, black hair– and he missed it so much it hurt.

He missed his soft and gentle side, when he would clean Aoba's wounds with all the care of the world. He missed how flustered he always got when Aoba teased him, a pretty blush covering his cheeks every time. He also missed his darker and broken side, with a smile that reached his ears that was anything but gentle. 

He missed kissing him and being held in his arms.   
He missed it all. 

Aoba was 21 years old now, and Mikado was 23. They weren't stupid teenagers anymore, and they had matured and grown. Aoba's hair was shorter, and his face looked less child-like. This made him wonder, would Mikado look different now, too? Maybe he had gotten taller again, maybe his hair was longer. Maybe he had even dyed it– nah, that was probably out of the question. 

Thinking such things was meaningless, but he couldn't help it. He had always had a crush on Mikado, although he had never told him.   
Mikado was the very first person he ever fell in love with. 

"Are you telling me that, after six years, you still can't forget him?! Gosh, Aoba, since when were you that type of character?"  
"For real... What does that guy have that you like so much?"  
"Shut up." Aoba groaned, closing his eyes and ignoring his noisy friends.   
"You're 21 already but you still can't send him a message. Were you always such a wimp?" Neko giggled, getting a punch in the arm from the bluenette. "Ouch!"

It wasn't like Aoba had never tried to call him or send him a mail. Many times he had opened the contact displaying Mikado's name, but he never got himself to actually pressing the button. Because... What would he say if Mikado picked up? Aoba wasn't responsible for what had happened, but he still had played an important part in using the other man and making him do what he did. Considering that, calling him as if nothing had happened was impossible. 

He didn't even know what Mikado's impression of him was. It's true that, during the time they had worked together, Mikado did kiss him more than once, and embraced him more than once. But this was surely because he felt lonely, and even if it wasn't Aoba himself who was with him at that moment, he would have done the same with any other person. It was a coincidence. 

There was no way that Mikado felt the same as him, and even less after all those years. 

"Hey, hey, Aoba... You've been starin' at your food for ten minutes straight. If ya won't eat it, I will." Again, his friends made him snap back to reality.   
"Yeah, I'm not hungry."  
"Huh? You okay?" Neko tilted his head, and Aoba nodded.   
"I got distracted, that's all."

He wondered if Mikado also thought about him from time to time. If he missed him as much as he did. 

\- - - - -

Mikado let out a yelp of surprise when Kida tapped his shoulder.   
"You were dozing off. Don't tell me that you were working until late yesterday too?"  
Mikado sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah... Sorry, Masaomi."  
"Nah, it's fine, but you gotta rest."

"Mm..." Mikado tried to change the subject, since having this same conversation again would be meaningless. "How's Anri doing? I haven't seen her in a while."   
"She's fine, just busy. We don't have much time to be together lately, and that pains my heart oh so much!" Kida accompanied his words bringing his hand to his chest in a dramatic way.   
"You two are always so lovey-dovey."  
It made him jealous, to an extent. Kida and Anri had been going out for five years already, and it seemed to be going really well. Whenever Kida and Mikado met up, the blond man would always ramble about how sweet and kind she was, and how much they loved each other. It made Mikado wonder if he would ever find something like that– someone like that. 

Immediately, a pair of brown eyes and a cheeky smile came to his mind.   
"Aoba." He thought out loud, catching Kida's attention.   
"Hm? Why does Aoba's name come out now?" Kida's tone of voice got a bit rough, because he didn't really like talking about Aoba. They never got along, and probably never would. 

"Eh? Ah, sorry... I was talking to myself."  
Kida hummed in agreement, but his smile had disappeared. Then, Mikado muttered, "I wonder how he's doing..."

Kida had noticed the way Mikado talked about Aoba, and how much time he spent thinking about the bluenette. Kida was probably more aware of this than Mikado himself.   
He had noticed that his bestest friend was in love with that man, and that in six years he hadn't been able to forget him. 

"Do you want to meet him?" Kida suddenly asked, stopping in his tracks.   
"Masaomi... Do you know where Aoba is?"  
Kida lowered his head and nodded.   
Mikado had a lot of questions, like "why the hell didn't you tell me sooner", but he decided to let it slide for now. Kida probably had his reasons, and right now knowing Aoba's whereabouts was more important for him. 

"I want to meet him." Mikado said, clutching the hem of his bag. 

Apparently, Aoba had moved to Shinjuku after the Dollars disappeared, and Kida knew this thanks to some of his contacts and friends. That was all the information that Kida had, but it was more than enough for Mikado. 

He wanted to meet him. He missed him more than what he would be willing to admit.   
He didn't know the reason behind his attachment to Aoba. He had never felt something like that for someone. 

It had all started during the time when they worked together. They had had to spend a lot of time in their base, waiting for news, and many times Mikado couldn't go outside because he would be found.   
At first, Mikado had kissed him experimentally, just for fun. He had always found Aoba pretty, and Aoba didn't reject the kiss either. From that point, they kept doing things like that from time to time. 

Mikado had been lonely, and he missed Kida and Anri. Initially, this was the reason why he was affectionate with Aoba. But gradually, his feelings started to change in an unexpected direction, and his affection towards the shorter male became real.   
Still, calling it "love" didn't seem fair.

He took the first available train that same day, and went to Shibuya. Along the way, many doubts attacked him. What would Aoba say, would he be happy, would he get mad; questions like that flooded his mind.   
And he had to admit, he was a bit scared. What if Aoba had forgotten about him? What if he had changed? 

He hadn't even went back to his house from his meeting with Kida, so he was wearing his suit from work. Was it too formal? Did he look decent?  
"...Geez, I'm so..." He sighed, embarrassed by himself. There was no going back now, so thinking about all that stuff was futile. Instead, he decided to take a nap during the trip and rest as Kida had advised. 

He made it to Shibuya when the sky was already pitch black, and blamed his own lack of patience for it. What would he do if Aoba was already sleeping...?   
He didn't even know his direction. All he had was the name of a nocturnal bar that Aoba often visited with his friends. He prayed to find them there, and started looking for the bar. 

\- - - - -

"Aoba, shouldn't we go home already...? I think you've already drunk enough, and I'm sleepy." Neko said along with a yawn.   
The bluenette took a sip from his glass, his cheeks red from the alcohol and his head fuzzy.   
"Go home if you want. I'll stay for a while."  
"If you say so..."  
His friends left the bar, discussing about how down and weird Aoba had been that day.  
Once they were gone, Aoba kept drinking, not caring about the fact that he had school the next day. His grades were good anyways, and if he wanted, he could skip some lessons. 

The door of the bar opened again, and he didn't bother to look to the man who entered it. He guessed that it was one of the common guests and kept his eyes in the glass in his hand.   
What Aoba could never have guessed is that the man who had just opened the door was the same Mikado he had spent all day thinking about. 

When Mikado saw Aoba, he was speechless. After six years, he had finally found him and took the courage to meet him. His blue hair was shorter and a bit less spiky, and his face looked a bit more adult now, but he was definitely Aoba. He wouldn't mistake him for anyone else. 

"–Aoba?"   
He asked, more to catch the other man's attention rather than to get an actual reply.   
Finally, the shorter male turned his head, and almost couldn't believe his eyes at the sight of Mikado.   
"M-Mikado?"   
For a moment, he thought that it was an hallucination or a dream caused by the alcohol, but it was real. He was real.   
Aoba's heart started beating a bit too loud, and he almost wondered if his beloved senpai could hear it.

He was right. He was totally right.   
He had gotten taller again. His hair was a bit longer. He was–

"Mikado." He repeated, standing up in disbelief. "Why are you here...?" He was unbelievably happy, but also confused.   
"It's been a while." Mikado said with a smile, seating next to him. "Um... A friend of mine told me where you were, so I decided to come."  
"At this hour?"  
Mikado closed his hands into fists, trying to hide his nervousness. "Y-yeah."

Aoba smiled a bit to himself. "I missed you." He said it playfully, but it was true.   
"I missed you too."

They stayed silent for some minutes. So many years had happened, and they didn't know where to start. Actually, they had a lot to talk about, but once they were face to face it didn't seem really important. What was important was–

"Aoba."  
"Hm?" Aoba turned his face towards Mikado, hoping that his excitement and happiness weren't showing.   
Mikado leaned closer to him, closed his eyes, and suddenly, their lips were touching. Aoba freezed on the spot, now really wondering if he wasn't dreaming. 

When Mikado parted away, he was quick to apologize, flustered. "I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done something like that so suddenly..."  
"Ah, no," Aoba lowered his head in embarrassment. "It's alright. But we should go somewhere else, people are staring."  
"Yeah..."

Aoba tried to stand up, but fell right back to the chair. He was unstable and dizzy; he had drunk too much...   
"Um, I'll help you walk." Mikado said, his hand in Aoba's back as the shorter man leaned against him to properly stand.   
They started walking like that, a bit awkward due to how close they were. 

Now, their height difference was even more obvious to Aoba, but not only that. Having Mikado's face closer to his, he fully realized how handsome he was. His suit fit him so well too, and everything about him was captivating. Aoba found himself staring at him for a good while as he guided Mikado through the streets, and towards his house. 

It was a small, old apartment, but it would have to do. They could at least speak more comfortably in there.   
"...How have you been?" Mikado asked as they walked.   
"Well... fine, I guess. After what happened, we all moved here and stopped doing things like that. I'm going to a university now."  
"That's great." 

"Here's the place." Aoba said once they were in front of his apartment. As soon as he opened the door –it took him a solid minute to find a key, and nearly another to properly insert it in the keyhole–, Aoba flopped in the couch with a sigh. 

"I'm sorry for being so sloppy... If I had knew that you would be coming, I wouldn't have went to drink."   
"It's alright! It's my fault for coming without a warning... Ah, I'll bring you some water."  
"Thanks..."   
Mikado sat next to him, handling him the glass and watching as Aoba gulped most of the water in one go.  
"Are you alright? I can leave if you need to rest."  
"No!" Aoba almost shouted, grabbing Mikado's arm in reflex. "Stay here. I-I mean... It's the first time we meet in years, and you came all the way here, so..."  
A soft blush appeared in Mikado's cheeks as he nodded. As soon as his arm was freed, he brought his hand to Aoba's hair, catching a strand between his fingers in silence.   
They both stayed like that for some seconds, looking at each other in the eyes as Mikado affectionately stoked Aoba's hair. 

"I missed you very much." The raven haired man said in a quiet voice. "I'm sorry for not finding you sooner."  
"Mikado." Aoba interrupted him. "Kiss me again."  
He knew that the alcohol was affecting him, and that he shouldn't be doing this, not now after all this time. But fuck, he's been waiting for it for so long, and Mikado looked so pretty and handsome that it made all reason be damned. 

And then their lips met again, and he completely forgot about the alcohol and anything that wasn't the man before him.   
Mikado's hand cupped Aoba's nape gently as he closed his eyes, and Aoba let his hands rest against Mikado's back. 

It was so different from their past kisses. This time they were not doing this because they were lonely or out of boredom– this time they completely wanted this and wanted each other. It was better than anything that Aoba could have dreamt of. 

They kept kissing for a good while, softly and slowly. It really was like a dream, and if it was, then they didn't want to wake up.   
"Aoba.", Mikado said between kisses. "I love you."  
Aoba opened his eyes upon hearing those words. "T-That's unfair, Mikado! I've always been waiting to confess properly...!"  
Mikado chuckled and caressed his cheek. "I'm sorry. I wasn't really sure until now. I'm kinda bad at these things."

Aoba hugged him tightly, hiding his face in Mikado's shoulder. He was so red and flustered and nervous, but so happy too, and his mind and heart were both a mess–  
"I love you too. I always have."  
"I didn't expect that."  
"Haha, that means that I'm good at hiding it."

Aoba smiled contently. He would have never expected that a completely normal day would end up like this.   
"Does this mean that we are going out?" Mikado asked shyly, petting Aoba's head.   
"Are you really asking that? Who's the one who's drunk?"  
"I... I don't want our relationship to be ambiguous anymore. This time, I want to do things right with you."

His words made the bluenette's heart flutter. Never in his life had he felt someone's affection, and he wasn't really used to it, but it wasn't a bad feeling. Specially coming from Mikado, the guy he had always loved.   
"I think the same. I'll be happy to be your boyfriend."

'Boyfriend'. It was such a foreign word to Mikado. It was the first time he had a partner in all his life, and the first time he loved someone so much. 

\- - - - -

Kida was having trouble sleeping. Anri was already asleep by his side with a relaxed expression, and yet he found himself thinking about Mikado. He would probably be at Aoba's house by now, and it made a bitter feeling spread in his chest. 

Anri and Kida had both always loved Mikado, but this didn't mean they didn't love each other. From the start, when Kida started going out with her, he had been waiting for the day when Mikado would join the couple and the three of them could date. He had realized Mikado's feelings for Aoba since the start, but he expected them to fade after some years. That's why he didn't tell him about Aoba's whereabouts in all that time. 

But Mikado's feelings didn't fade; in fact they grew stronger, although Mikado himself took very long to realize this. When Kida noticed this, he decided to stop lying to his friend and give up on him. Anri also knew all of this and had agreed to keep the secret until then. 

Still, Kida felt awful for lying for so long. He was definitely going to properly apologize to Mikado, but still, what he had done was unforgivable.  
"...Masaomi?" Anri opened her eyes lazily, resting her head in Kida's shoulder. "You can't sleep?"   
"Yeah." Kida smiled, not wanting to worry her. However, Anri was much more intelligent and perceptive than what he would –sometimes– like, and she noticed how his smile was fake. 

"...Are you thinking about Mikado?"   
Kida nodded, his smile disappearing. "We've done something awful to him. I want to apologize, but... what if he doesn't want to be our friend anymore?"  
"I don't think that will happen. I also feel bad for what we did, and I always wondered if this was the good decision, but... Mikado has a big heart. He has forgiven us for a lot of things, and we forgave him too. After all that happened six years ago, I don't feel like us three can be separated."

These words made Kida be at ease, and he nodded. Anri was right, if they apologized, everything would be okay.   
"Well, now that that's over!" Kida said cheerfully, hugging his girlfriend with a grin. "Time to sleep, I'm seriously beat!"  
Anri laughed quietly and embraced him back. "Good night."

\- - - - -

"Aoba, what's that?" Mikado asked, completely bewildered.   
It was the next morning already, and he was a bit more than surprised when he woke up and saw his boyfriend with a suitcase. "Are you going somewhere?"

"That's a funny question, Mikado. I'm going to Ikebukuro with you."  
"Huh?! But you have school!"  
Aoba sighed dramatically and smiled. "Life is more than school. And besides, I always attend. Skipping for once will be fine, and the weekend is already around the corner."

Mikado knew that arguing would be useless, and deep inside he felt happy, but he couldn't help but worry.  
"It will be okay, Mikado! I just want to spend some time with my new lover. And besides, I think this is fair considering how much time we've spent apart."  
He wasn't wrong about that.   
"Okay, but I have work, you know." Mikado said, starting to get prepared as well. 

Ikebukuro.   
It had been forever since the last time Aoba visited it, and actually he was a little scared. What would he do if he ran into someone he didn't want to see? He was probably an unwanted guest. That was the city where he...

"Aoba? Are you okay?" Mikado asked worried.   
The bluenette blinked twice, realizing that he was in the clouds. "Yeah, I was just distracted." He smiled awkwardly, but Mikado frowned, not convinced.   
"Are you sure? You can talk to me if you want."

Aoba shook his head in denial. He couldn't show any weakness in front of him. He couldn't–  
"You're shaking..." Mikado took Aoba's hands between his, and looked at him. He was right; Aoba's whole body was trembling, and it made him feel ashamed of himself.   
"T-this is nothing, Mikado. I simply remembered something unpleasant."

Mikado was about to ask further, but understood that it would be better to drop the topic. So instead, in an attempt to calm his boyfriend down, he kissed his forehead lovingly as he rubbed his arms.   
Aoba blushed and started to relax, the tension in his muscles slowly disappearing. 

"Thank you." He muttered, hugging Mikado when he totally stopped trembling.   
"You're welcome. I'll always be here for you."  
Aoba felt his heart race, but recalled something important that ruined his mood. "We're gonna be late for the bus."

\- - - - -

Saying that they were going to Ikebukuro was easier than doing it. If someone like Aoba simply appeared around there as if nothing had happened, there were people who might start a fight with him. Even if Ikebukuro was much more peaceful now, some people held grudges with them, and Mikado himself had experienced it. 

Considering this, they decided to try to avoid seeing other people specially in the streets, and decided to ask Togusa for help. With his van, he could drive them to Mikado's house unnoticed. They felt a little bad for asking him to do that, but they had no other way, and Togusa immediately accepted. He had never directly met Aoba yet, but after the incident with the Dollars he and Mikado started getting along better.  
"Good morning, Togusa." Mikado said with a smile as he got into the van, followed by Aoba.   
"Good mornin'. Nice to meet you, Kuronuma."   
Aoba nodded, greetings him back and getting comfortable in his seat. 

The way to Mikado's house from the bus stop was short, since he lived in the center of the city. During the way, Aoba looked much more relaxed than before. He was already there, and he knew that it was useless to worry now. First of all, with how cautious they were being, it was unlikely that he would meet anyone unwanted. 

They soon made it to their destination and thanked Togusa many times before entering the house. It was the same house as always, a bit old and rusty, but that felt more welcoming to Aoba. 

"Do you want a bit of tea?" Mikado offered him, leaving his bag in the table.   
"No, I'm alright."   
They both sat down around the small table, kinda awkward and not knowing what to talk about. 

"Um–" As soon as Mikado opened his mouth to ask something else, the doorbell rang, interrupting him. "Huh? I wonder who it could be. I'll go look."  
The taller man stood up, walking to his door and opening it just a bit, enough to see who was in the other side. 

"Masaomi, Anri... What's wrong?" He said in a quiet voice so that Aoba couldn't hear them. There wasn't really any reason to do it, but since Aoba wanted to go unnoticed by there, he considered that it would be better to not tell anyone about the situation. 

"Mikado... We came to apologize. I'm really sorry."   
"I'm sorry too." Both Kida and Anri bowed their heads, making their friend feel even more confused.   
"What are you apologizing for? Did something happen?"  
Kida bit his lip, guilt swelling his heart. "I... We lied to you for a long time. Even though we knew were Aoba was, we didn't tell you."

Mikado smiled a bit. This reminded him of six years ago, when the three of them apologized to each other until they were crying. It was nostalgic.   
"Well... Why don't you come inside by the moment? That might be better."  
Hiding Aoba now didn't seem like the better decision, and if they all talked about it they could all solve their problems better. 

Kida and Anri nodded and stepped in, their jaws dropping when they saw the bluenette inside, who was also surprised and confused.   
"K-Kuronuma?! Why...?"  
"Well, some things happened." Mikado smiled and sat again next to Aoba. Kida and Anri did the same in the other side of the table, still speechless. 

"Actually... We are dating now." Mikado blushed as he said this, slightly flustered.   
Kida chuckled, shrugging. "I could guess that much... Well, I'm happy for you, I guess."  
He found himself staring at Aoba, suspicious of him. "I can't completely trust you yet. It's because of you and Izaya that Mikado went through that."

Aoba looked away, frowning. "I don't blame you for doubting me, but Mikado himself said that the same would have happened even if we had done nothing."  
"Well, it's pointless to discuss about what could have happened. I don't trust you, but I trust Mikado's judgment."

"Anyway... We came here to explain why we kept Kuronuma's whereabouts a secret. One of the reasons was because we were scared of you going back to where you were. We didn't want to lose you again." Anri explained, sounding deeply apologetic. "The other reason was..."  
"Anri, it's okay." Kida whispered to her ear, taking her hand. "That's over now. There's no need to say it."

Anri nodded, hesitating a bit but knowing that Kida was right. They were both going to get over Mikado, and root for his happiness with Aoba. Talking about their feelings now would uselessly make everything more complicated.   
"Mikado, if you are angry we understand it, but... We really regret it." 

"It's okay. There's no way that I would hate you for that. And anyway, I can understand why you did that. The only thing that matters now is that we are all happy."  
"T-then... You forgive us?" Kida said, his voice trembling a little.   
"Of course. You two are my best friends."  
"Thank you..."  
The three of them hugged, and Kida and Anri finally felt better, all that anxiousness from these years completely disappearing. 

"Now that that's settled, we will leave you alone. We don't have to ruin your date!" Kida winked while standing up. "Bye bye~!"  
Mikado was happy to see that his worries had faded and he was the same Kida as always. He really was his best friend, and his smile was reassuring.   
"See you later, Mikado. Have a nice day. You too, Kuronuma."

Both Mikado and Aoba sent them off, and suddenly the house was in complete silence again.   
"...That's it, then." Mikado muttered, turning back to where Aoba was. "You know, I was pretty nervous. I was scared that they wouldn't approve our relationship, so I'm glad they did."

Aoba nuzzled against Mikado's neck as soon as his boyfriend was again next to him. "You really care about them a lot."  
"Are you jealous?" Mikado's arms wrapped around his waist, shortening the distance between the two.   
"No, I'm not. I know that you love me more. You've been loving me for six years, after all, and I have too."

He knew that he was loved.   
If only he could tell the him of some years ago that this time would eventually come, maybe that Aoba would have had it better. 

"You know, I was never loved by my family, and had no one to trust. My parents... Abused of me and my brother, and the three of them used to beat me. I grew without knowing that something like this existed."  
Mikado closed his eyes, feeling honestly sad from Aoba's words. It was so unfair... 

"But now it's a bit different. Thank you, Mikado."  
Mikado tightened the hug, feeling the warmth of Aoba's body. "I'll always be by your side. You're so precious to me... We will be together from now on."  
Aoba's eyes got teary as he nodded, a wide smile on his face. One of his most honest smiles. One that Mikado had been six years wanting for. Yearning for.

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry if the end is too rushed,,, this started as a drabble so i didnt know how to finish it


End file.
